The present invention relates to a connector provided with a side retainer.
One type of electrical connector is provided with a side retainer, in which a retainer is inserted into a housing from a side face thereof and retains terminal fittings. In this type of connector the terminal fittings are retained directly, and it therefore has the advantage of having a strong stopping force. However, side retainers must have an opening into the side face of the housing to allow the insertion of the retainer. This makes this type unsuitable for water-proofing, and it has accordingly been difficult to make side retainers water-proof.
A connector has been proposed in JP-61-162970 to solve this problem. This has a configuration whereby a separate rubber gasket is attached to an insertion hole of the side retainer, providing the insertion hole with a seal.
However, in the connector described above, a specialised rubber gasket is necessary and, consequently. there is the problem that both the number of components and costs increase. Moreover the rubber gasket must be attached to a small component and, as a result, there is also the drawback that the attachment operation is troublesome. Furthermore, even in a connector which does not need to be water-proof, the side retainer protrudes outwards from the opening formed in the side face of the housing. As a result, there is the problem that foreign objects from the exterior might strike against the protruding portion, or that foreign objects might enter between the side retainer and the housing, etc., and therefore it is desirable that nothing protrudes from the opening.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a connector in which a side retainer does not protrude to the exterior of the housing.
According to the invention, there is provided an electrical connector comprising an outer housing, an inner housing insertable in the outer housing, said inner housing being adapted to receive an electrical terminal therein, and a retainer insertable in the inner housing, said retainer being movable between a temporary condition in which a terminal is insertable, and a final condition in which said terminal is immovable, the retainer being movable between said temporary and final conditions after insertion of said inner housing in said outer housing. Such a retainer has the advantage that it is wholly within the outer housing, and thus does not require an exterior seal. Furthermore, it does not protrude, and is therefore not susceptible to contact damage.
The connector includes an attachment face for receiving a mating connector, and preferably the inner housing is inserted from this attachment face. In this way the outer housing can be miniaturised since an additional rear opening is not required. The wire protruding from the rear can be sealed against moisture in a conventional manner.
The outer housing may define a channel having a continuous wall, the inner housing being received within the channel. Locking means may be provided to retain the inner and outer housings together.